Great Second Street

Thursday, September 11, 2014

The SF Department of Public works produced these before and after digital visualizations of Second Street's preferred design which is currently making it's way through the CEQUA process. The design features raised and protected cycle tracks, similar to the type used widely in Copenhagen. This sort of first rate cycling improvement is justified because Second Street is a critical part of the City's cycle route network, connecting downtown to the Giant's Stadium, Central Waterfront, and Blue Green Way. Besides raising property values this will be much safer for pedestrians and cyclists. It's been in process for over 10 years, and is scheduled to be completed in 2016.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

In the early years of this millennium the San Francisco MTA invented a new type of bike symbol: The sharrow. It sounds simple, but it was a major task to do the research and experiments to see if these things actually did any good and then to take the documentation to the U.S. Traffic Symbol Gods. Eventually sharrows were officially blessed, and many have been painted to designate bicycle routes that can't—or don't yet—have dedicated bike lanes or cycle tracks. Second Street was actually a pilot route in this early research, which can be seen in the few faded sharrows still visible on some blocks.

A wild super sharrow in San Francisco.

More recently in collaboration with the national Green Lane Project (www.peopleforbikes.org/green-lane-project), the next generation was rolled out. Introducing the super sharrow, which adds a beautiful rectangle of reflective safety green paint underneath the iconic symbol. These are highly visible and quite effective in getting motorists to be more mindful of bicycles.The SFMTA recently added super sharrows down the length of Market Street at about 60-foot intervals. They help by reminding motorists to respect the vulnerable road user and that—most importantly—bikes belong.

An aerial view of what super sharrows would look like on Second Street if installed the same way as they currently appear on Market Street in downtown San Francisco.

At the urging of Supervisor Jane Kim, the SFMTA has committed to adding super sharrows to Second Street as an interim step toward final safety improvements. The installation date has yet to be determined.

Another view of Second Street with a super sharrow layout similar to those recently added to Market Street.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Does it seem like you see more urban cyclists on Second Street? The 2013 SFMTA Bike Count confirms this: from 2011 to 2013 there has been a 35% increase in cycling on Second, one of the largest jumps of any corridor in San Francisco. This is not anecdotal: these counts are just that, real time data. And this is with zero physical improvement to the bicycle infrastructure on the major bicycle route.Read the full report here: http://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/files/2013%20Bike%20Count%20Report.pdf

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Hello again! It has been about 6 months since we last met at the 4th 2nd Street community meeting in May. Thank you to everyone who came out and voiced the importance for a safer 2nd Street, supported the proposed design (full design), and most importantly represented what is the BIGGER picture: a corridor that pedestrians, cyclists, transit and automobiles can utilize happily and together.

Despite the huge amount of work we have all put into this project over many years, this exciting new vision for 2nd Street is still far from assured. It's crucial that we keep the pressure on the City to vote for the better design option - Sharrows are not enough for 2nd Street.

Please join us, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, and your fellow 2nd Street supporters for an after work meet up. Let's share a drink (non-alcoholic available) and chat about how to ensure that the City votes for the best design to ultimately make 2nd Street GREAT.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Next Wednesday, November 28th, the San Francisco Department of Public Works, Municipal Transportation Agency, and City Planning will host a third and final community meeting for the Second Street Improvement Project. Over the course of the previous community meetings and a number of online surveys, we, the community, selected one-way cycletracks as the best option for a bicycle facility on Second Street. This meeting will discuss the proposed conceptual design in detail and provide the opportunity for questions and answers.

We urge you to attend this meeting and show your support for bicycle and pedestrian improvements in our neighborhood!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

A message from SF DPW:

I would like to thank you on behalf of San Francisco’s Department of Public Works, the Municipal Transportation Agency and Department of City Planning for attending the Second Street Improvement Project meeting on Thursday September 20, 2012. The meeting was a huge success and the feedback provided by the community is invaluable in determining the future vision for 2nd Street.

At the meeting several of you filled out a survey providing us feedback on design elements you would like included in the final design concept and their order of preference. However, since some neighbors and merchants were not able to attend the meeting, we would like to extend the survey to residents and merchants for their review and comments. We are extending the survey period until Friday October 12, 2012.

We have posted the presentation materials and a brief comparison of the design options on the project website. Please feel free to forward the link to any neighbors that might be interested in providing the Project Team with feedback. Thank you. www.sfdpw.org/secondstreet

We're supporting the One Way Cycle Tracks option as the best for pedestrians and street greening, particularly in front of the ClockTower Lofts. I addition we think not widening the sidewalks on both sides of the street (currently SF DPW proposed widening only the western, shady side because of an undetermined cost to underground the power on the crowded, sunny, eastern side) for the three blocks from Harrison to Townsend is missing a huge once in a generation opportunity to do this right. You could write that in the feedback form if you agree...

IT'S TIME...

2nd Street is scheduled to repaved soon. We think a smooth street is wonderful, there are other things to fix besides potholes. Crossing the wide street can be dangerous, green is sparse, and there are no bike lanes. Join us in making 2nd Street GREAT!